Winning streak reaches five
Milwaukee moves into playoff spot
Milwaukee needed a victory to keep gaining ground in the tight Eastern Conference playoff race.
The Bucks got solid contributions from starters and the bench as they won their seasonhigh fifth straight game, taking a 99-85 decision over the Indiana Pacers on Friday night at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.
Giannis Antetokounmpo led the way with 21 points, eight rebounds, five assists and five steals. Khris Middleton also had 21 points and Greg Monroe added 18 off the bench. Jason Terry played 25 minutes and had eight points, including a three-pointer and a basket in the lane to help the Bucks pull away in the final quarter.
“Jet (Terry) has been playing great all season,” Bucks coach
Jason Kidd said. “He brings a calmness, a trust, a championship spirit to the floor. When he’s on the floor, guys trust and believe and they play at a different level.”
Milwaukee (31-33) moved past the Chicago Bulls (31-34) into the eighth and final playoff spot in the East, after the Bulls lost at home to Houston. The Bucks are onehalf game behind seventhplace Detroit (32-33) and 11⁄2 games behind the Pacers, who fell to 33-32.
The Bucks also gained a playoff tiebreaker with Indiana by clinching the season series. They lead, 3-0, with one meeting left in April.
Paul George led Indiana with 18 points, 11 rebounds and six assists.
The Bucks were shorthanded without starting point guard Malcolm Brogdon, who sat out with a back injury to miss his first game this season. But Matthew Dellavedova, Terry and Rashad Vaughn filled the void.
“Anything I can contribute at this point is good,” the 39-year-old Terry said. “But I’m so focused on the defensive end, being there with energy and rebounding. The offense will be there.
“We said at shootaround that we needed everybody tonight. Rashad did a hell of a defensive job while he was in there. If we take care of the ball, maybe we pull away earlier. But hey, a win is a win. You learn from it and (Saturday) is another big game for us.”
Milwaukee faces Minnesota, a team getting hot and coming off a 103-102 home-court victory over Golden State on Friday night.
Kidd said before the game he might need multiple centers against Indiana’s big lineup. That meant minutes for John Henson, who had not played (coach’s decision) in the last four games.
Henson responded with 10 points, seven rebounds and four blocks in 21 minutes.
“Khris (Middleton) gave me a warning, so I was mentally prepared, just in case,” Henson said. “That’s just part of being professional. Whenever you get a shot, try to not hurt us.
“I’m sure I wasn’t on the scouting report, so I can’t get too much credit.”
Kidd said Henson played very well.
“He hasn’t played; he’s been on ice,” Kidd said. “Not because he’s done anything wrong, but (Thon) Maker, Moose (Monroe) have played and we have a lot of bigs. He gave us a big spark in that second (quarter) and starting the third. He was big defensively and also being able to finish around the basket.”
The Bucks got off to a sluggish start, trailing, 10-0, before finally scoring on a dunk and threepoint play Maker.
Milwaukee cut its deficit to one point twice in the second quarter, but Indiana went on a 13-4 run to take a 44-34 lead with 4:35 left in the first half.
Six points from Antetokounmpo — two baskets and two free throws — and a three-pointer by Dellavedova allowed the Bucks to get within 50-45 at halftime.
The Bucks outscored the Pacers, 29-18, in the third quarter to grab a 7468 lead.
Terry’s clutch five points allowed the Bucks to expand their lead from three points to 86-78 with 6 minutes left.
Middleton, Antetokounmpo and Monroe helped the Bucks close out the victory, with Middleton’s triple giving the Bucks a 97-83 lead with 2 minutes left.